Melbourne release statement regarding Deloitte Findings

Acting
Melbourne Storm CEO, Frank Stanton, this afternoon addressed the
media at
AAMI Park and issued the following statement:

Today
has clearly been another difficult day for everyone involved with
Melbourne
Storm.

Melbourne
Storm accepts the findings of the Deloitte forensic investigation,
which
was requisitioned by the club's owner, News Limited.

With
the exception of those few individuals named in the report, we are
pleased
that there was no evidence that the remaining staff, including Head
Coach
Craig Bellamy and Football Manager Frank Ponissi, were involved in
the
breach.

Additionally,
there was no evidence that players were aware that payments made to
them
were not disclosed to the NRL or could have contributed to the club
breaching the salary cap.

This
club can do nothing to change the past and we deeply regret what has
occurred. What we will do from this point on is to focus on the
future and
work tirelessly to rebuild this great club.

The
Melbourne Storm Board has today been restructured by the owners to
ensure
that, with the assistance of the NRL, we can field a competitive
team in
2011 that complies with salary cap requirements.

A new
CEO will be appointed shortly and with that we can then focus on
rebuilding
our sponsor base and our standing in the Melbourne and Australian
sporting
landscape.

We
applaud the professionalism our players and staff have shown during
this
difficult time.

And
can I also express our deepest appreciation to our existing
sponsors, as
well as our members and supporters, we are all extremely grateful
for your
loyalty and ongoing support, and we have the utmost confidence in
the
future of this great club.